Scrubbed
by AlSmash
Summary: When Lelouch and Kallen arrived at Kamine Island, everything that could go wrong did and for the last three years they have lived a hell they were not even aware of. Finally free, just what is left for them in a world that has been spun upon its head?
1. Prologue

_**Scrubbed**_

"How are they?"

"Alive, but unconscious. The Chinese are not pleased that we've taken them."

"To hell with the Empress and Xingke. They wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for our assistance, as far as I'm concerned they owe us one and I'm collecting."

"It may not be as cut and dry as you think. After all, they did try to assassinate you during a Chinese Federation celebration, some will think we are overstepping our charter."

"Those two are major security threats to Britannia and us. I wouldn't trust the Chinese to take care of them properly, they'd probably take them out back and shoot them for who they are. With us at least we have a way to disable them and keep them contained as we pick up the pieces. Damn my father and his twisted shit brother to the depths of hell, have you seen what they did to him?"

"I had to experience it. She's even worse."

"...I shudder to think what might have happened if you had not approached me witch."

"I have a good idea, but we bought enough time to keep them busy putting out fires."

"So what now? They will be completely out of sorts when they wake up."

"Now? We continue as is and work to repair the damage as best as we can."

"And hope for the best."

0000

Where was he was the first thought that raced through the mind of Lelouch vi Britannia as he slowly awakened. Everything seemed muddled to him, an inky blackness where his recollections should be that refused to give up its contents to him.

The second thing that occured to him was when he looked up at the dull metal ceiling of wherever he was was that he had no depth perception because his left eye was covered by something.

The third and final thing however was when he attempted to reach up to remove whatever was covering the eye, he found his wrist handcuffed to the bed. He laid there staring at the offending accessory with a look of confusion.

_Why am I handcuffed? Why can't I remember anything? _

Any normal person would more than likely start panicking, but he wasn't a normal person, he was Zero, and Zero didn't panic, he analyzed. But again, the only problem with achieving that was the fact that analysis required data, and all the data he had was not the kind that solved the problem.

_No, wait_, he thought with a deep frown, _the last thing I remember was arriving at Kamine Island...Nunnally, that was it. I went to Kamine to rescue Nunnally who had been kidnapped. Kallen was there with me? Were we captured? Where am I? What's going on?_

He raised his head up, an unconscious part of him filing away that it felt weird to life it's head, well, not weird, just...it didn't have a descriptor for it, it just felt off. The lack of depth perception though was starting to drive him insane, for one thing, he could barely make out anything in the dim surroundings of wherever he was, but he couldn't even gauge the distance to get a scale of where he was at. All he had was that the bed was comfortable and the actual blankets were of a higher quality than what he was used to at Ashford.

So was he a prisoner or what?

It was as he was scanning the room again he stopped as he realized there was someone sitting in the shadows watching him, his lone eye narrowed at the figure.

"Who are you? Why am I being detained? What do you want with me?"

He heard more than saw as the figure shifted in the chair, the sound of clothing rustling as it then stood up to its feet. It then began walking towards him, entering into the light and allowing him to see to see who it was.

A spike of cold fear shot through his stomach as the all-too-familiar visage of his elder half-sister Cornelia li Britannia stepped front and center. A flash of a memory of her laying battered and broken before the remnants of her person Gloucester a defiant look as she threatened to make him pay for what he had done to Euphemia.

_Euphemia. That was right, he had killed her. _

"So, I guess you won," he stated bitterly, bringing his head back to the bed, "here to take your revenge for killing Euphie?"

He awaited any response any type of condescension, hell, he figured she would shoot him now, but she did nothing, only standing there looking at him with a neutral expression, only confusing him further. He had expected Cornelia angry, screaming at him, crying, something, not Cornelia just standing there like a statue.

He sighed, closing his on eye.

"What do you want me to say before you kill me? I'm sorry? I'm sorry for what happened to Euphie? I didn't mean it? I didn't want it to happen? Cornelia, you have already destroyed the Black Knights, you won, just kill me because I refuse to be brought back to that man."

"You really don't remember, do you?"

His one eye snapped open.

"Remember what?"

Cornelia disappeared into the shadows again, causing him to chew at what she had just said.

"Remember what Cornelia? What should I be remembering? The battle? WHAT?!"

The lights snapped on, causing him to wince at the sudden brightness of the room before his eye adjusted to everything. It was now that he realized he was in some personal quarters of sorts, spartan, but with a hint of a personal touch to it. A picture of Euphemia lay off on a desk cluttered with various papers and tablets. He then looked to Cornelia and was taken aback at the clothing choice. Gone was the usual nightmare of Britannian military clothing, replaced by a more simplistic but stylish and formfitting jumpsuit of white and red with crape draped over her shoulders.

A part of him whispered that something was off. If anything Cornelia seemed...different. Older maybe. But her hair was a bit wilder, yet at the same time more regal, with the purple hair being slightly longer and more...aggressive looking.

"What was the last thing you remember," she asked.

He frowned, confused at the line of questioning. Why was she interested in what he remembered?

"Why do you even care?"

"If you truly regret what happened to Euphemia, then you will tell me what you remember last," she commanded, her voice stern even as her eyes flashed dangerously.

He remained silent for what seemed like an eternity, looking into that inky blackness that was his memory. Why was it so hard to remember? Why was there things he could not recall when he had a perfect memory? Had he been geassed? No, he wouldn't have such a widespread memory fault, it must be something else.

"I remember making it to Kamine Island," he finally stated, "I remember making it there with Kallen and then...and then," he closed his eye trying to focus, but he couldn't recall past that, it was like his brain refused to remember that event for some reason, "nothing. Now are you going to kill me?"

It was then to his shock as the expression on Cornelia's face softened, she reached over, grabbed a chair, and dragged it over beside him. That done, she then settled into the chair before letting out a sigh, looking at him.

"What's going on Cornelia," he demanded. What was going on? Why wasn't she going to kill him? Why was she toying with him?

"Lelouch, I don't even know where to start with this," she hesitated stopping herself to think, "but the Battle of the Tokyo Settlement was almost three years ago."

* * *

**This is a fic that started out as a simple idea put forward by dw77 and kind percolated in my head until it developed into this. It is going to be a multipart fic, how many chapters I'm not sure yet and it really is a tertiary fic with all the fics I'm currently working on. But I should get to updating it sometime next month or so. **

**So? What do you think has happened to Lelouch? What has gone on in the last three years? Why is Cornelia not gutting him like a fish?**

**Y'all have to wait until the next chapter to find out.**


	2. PII: Three Years of Change

**Early Merry Christmas for you guys. This would not leave my head so I can do my 13 quizzes, two reports, and two discussions that are due by Sunday. So now it's out, and I have 47 hours to do all that work. Hope you enjoy, because I'm going to be a freaking mess.**

* * *

**Prologue II**

_**Three Years of Change**_

The more things changed, the more they seemed to stay the same.

Those words had become a constant axiomatic reminder of the world as it was for the current Knight of Seven of the Holy Britannian Empire, Suzaku Kururugi as he reviewed the latest report of his prey.

Who would have believed that the son of the former Japanese Prime Minister could achieve the station that he had? That he would become Hero of Area 11 in the colony's darkest times.

Then again, he thought bitterly as he threw the report down, an Empire built upon lies would of course concoct a lie for his service.

The fact of the matter was he was no hero.

_He hadn't even killed Zero._

Hell, he didn't even make it to Kamine Island where he was credited with killing Zero until he was long gone. Instead, it was heaped upon him for no reason even he knew, only that he had go with the charade in order for Nunnally to live.

_Nunnally_, he thought with a frown as he turned to look out the window. It was hard to deal with her on a day-to day-basis because of the identity of Zero himself. The fact that Lelouch had disappeared at the same time Zero had died was the final nail in the coffin of the horrific realization that his best friend was his very worst enemy.

He should have seen the warning signs there, Lelouch's declaration to destroy Britannia a decade ago now. The fact that his position at the Academy was the perfect smokescreen for his actions because the Ashford's would have provided him with sufficient cover to operate.

The problem really was how he had been able to amass power so quickly. His charisma aside, Lelouch was not exactly the most likeable of people because of his imperious nature and the fact that he could be as two-faced as the best of them, probably even more so than his own father.

He shook his head as he the door opened to the room he was in, revealing one of his subordinates.

After he was given the status of the Knight of Seven, he had the opportunity to form his own four man knight team to support him. While it was urged that he select noble Britannians for such an opportunity, he had recognize the opportunity of change, and in that opportunity, he had selected his knights from both Britannian and Eleven ranks.

One of those, was his direct subordinate, Amano Yuki. She was a purebred Eleven like himself, the daughter of a scion of the Japanese parliament, she had integrated into Britannian society thanks to the money her family were able to bring to bear, but it did not protect her from having her own share of instances of experiencing the bigotry of her conquerors. When she was old enough, she was admitted into the training program thanks to his performance and rise up the ranks, opening the doors for a few 'qualified' Elevens the opportunity to prove themselves.

She was probably the best thing to be both his Knight and his subordinate, her understanding of politics had allowed him the avoidance of many of the traps that was Britannian societal customs and politics. Combined with her intelligence and prowess and she was the shield for his sword on the battlefield.

Coming to a stop before him, the light reflecting off the glasses she wore to give a glint, she wore her perpetual frown a bit deeper than usual, which caused him to likewise frown deeper.

"What is it?"

"Nix."

The frown turned into a scowl as he held a hand out, taking the report she offered to him and proceeded to read through it.

After the death of Zero and the capture of most of the Black Knight's upper echelons, it had been widely accepted that the Black Knights and the Eleven's attempt at uprising was well and done. That had been true...for about three months. Nix had been that reason. In one night with a small team of Knightmares and infantry, Nix had been able to rescue the majority of the Black Knight's command structure and disappear, but that hadn't even been where it would stop. Four Knights of the Round, including himself, had been called in to viciously stop down this resurgent threat only for it to not appear where everyone had expected it.

The next warning they had that the Black Knights were back was when the Chinese Federation's Eunuchs were overthrown by forces loyal to the Empress, it had been the first appearance of the entity known as Nix, who had announced to the world that not only had the Black Knights returned, but were continuing where they had left off. But perhaps even more shocking was the fact that the Chinese Federation supported them and called for the creation of a confederation to stand against Britannian aggression.

That had been over two years ago and it had begun a series of devastating setbacks for Britannia in the last year and a half. The EuroBritannian Empire becoming the first victim as it found itself suddenly outflanked with several divisions of suddenly competent Chinese Federation forces with Black Knight support were already deep within the EuroBrits territory before they could set up a defense. He had been part of the desperate attempt at defense, being able to turn back the offensive.

It had been there that he had encountered not only Nix, but Tohdoh and the Holy Swords. While Nix wasn't as capable as Zero in strategy, he seemed to know what the Britannians were going to do before even they did. It had turned into a bloody affair, in spite of the numerical and quality advantages the Britannians and EuroBritannians had still been defeated, the losses far outweighing the Black Knights, losing the Knights of Four and Ten along with several crack units, all for a pair of Chinese divisions and two of the Holy Swords.

And yet, even worse, the EuroBritannians, in their desperate bid to stop the Chinese advance, had stripped their offensive into the European Union's territory, leaving them open for an offensive by the European Union if they were aware. Which was exactly what happened. Suddenly, what had been an inevitable victory for Britannia was turned into a devastating route as the EuroBritannian Empire collapsed within three months, ending in the inglorious retreat from Petropavlovsk back to Britannia with every available allied unit that could be recovered.

It had been the worst defeat of the Britannian Empire since Trafalgar, and yet, it didn't stop there. The European Union and the Chinese Federation had united under what they were calling The International Confederacy, with the Black Knights unilaterally considered their offensive arm, even further insult to injury.

In the last year, the Confed had separated the world into two camps, with Britannia able to hold on to the Americas, Japan and the Pacific, and a significant portion of Africa still, but it was a shadow of its former self. Only the fact that they were now stuck to holding on to what it had and repairing the damage done by Britannia prevented them from advancing further. If it wasn't for that, then the odds were Britannian would be left with the western hemisphere.

Honestly, he was coming to believe that they were better off with Zero leading the Black Knights than this Nix person.

"There was an attempt upon Nix's life," Yuki stated.

"Us or them?"

It was no shock that with the rise of Nix there would become enemies both from within and out. But probably the most shocking fact was that many of the attempts on Nix's life had been from within. No one in Britannia was sure what to make of it, other than it was likely that there were internal stressors within the United Nations that they weren't readily apparent to them.

"Us."

He arched an eyebrow at that, motioning her to explain as he read through the rather small report in front of him, which meant to him that there was a lot more to this attempt than anything.

"All we have is that the perpetrators were Britannian according to what we could get from the guards of the function. Not much else, other than that they were scooped up by the Witch."

A woman with green hair, alabaster skin, and golden eyes flashed through his mind in response to the title. The Witch, as Britannian intelligence called her, was supposedly the power behind both Zero and now Nix. Not much was known about her outside of the fact that she was of European descent.

But for him, she was a missed opportunity. He remembered her from those tunnels in the Shinjuku Ghetto. The woman that Lelouch had fled with.

The woman who had to have given him Geass.

It was something he couldn't share with any of his subordinates. Geass was something only a handful of people were privy to, his exposure to it allowing him a seat at the table so to speak. It wasn't that useful, but it allowed him access to some information on the woman who led to Lelouch's eventual death.

"And they were alive?"

"According to our sources. Yes."

There was something he wasn't seeing here. Why would Nix and the Witch recover a pair of assassins?

"Is there anything else?"

"Not really. Princess Nunnally has again requested that you contact her."

He grimaced, he had been trying to avoid dealing with Nunnally for awhile now. It wasn't exactly pleasant to be around the sister of the man you had a hand in his death, in spite of the circumstances.

"Thank you, Yuki. Carry on."

The woman sharply saluted before leaving him alone in the silent and now disturbingly empty office. Sighing, he sat back down in the chair again, his eyes drifting to a picture laying on the desk of Euphie and himself, which earned a wan smile from him.

As harmful as the memory of her loss was, and it had been hell for the year after her death, the good somehow made its way through. He didn't know even how the picture ended up in his possession, only that it did and in the darkest moments of his life it provided the light to bring him out of it.

It was a picture, he didn't know who took it, of himself and Euphie simply sitting in a small field of flowers idly chatting with one another, smiles on their faces. He wasn't even sure of when it was, probably one of those 'quick excursions' Euphie had when he had become her Knight, dragging him someplace peaceful just for the two of them to have a smile and chat idly about their hopes and dreams.

Without even realizing it, he reached over and caressed his thumb down the cheek of the pinkette's image. It would be the closest he would be able to show such affection for her anymore, but it would have to be enough. She was gone now and all he could do was try to work for the peaceful world she wished for.

His mobile ringing caused him to immediately pull his hand away as if he had touched a hot burner. Taking one last look at the picture, he then reached into his pocket and retrieve his mobile, sliding it open and placing it by his ear.

"Kururugi."

"You've been ignoring me again, Suzaku," came the plaintive tone of Princess Nunnally vi Britannia.

Bringing his hand up to his forehead, he massaged it as he leaned back in the chair.

"I'm sorry Nunnally, but you know how it is."

"But ignoring my phone calls?"

"I don't think my fellow Knights or the generals would appreciate me stopping everything just to handle a phone call from you Nunnally, in spite of your status."

A long pause ensued between the two of them.

"I miss you," she stated softly.

He grimaced, recognizing the tone, a tone he knew all too well through the last year. A tone of longing and wishing that he was there with her instead somewhere across the world or, even worse, on the battlefield.

"I miss you, too," he finally admitted.

After all, what could you say to your girlfriend for the last year?

It was something he had never intended, nor had he really wanted. But Nunnally had her ways around his defenses, slowly boring her way into his heart and psyche like Euphemia had done, but in a different way. Regaining the ability to walk thanks to medical breakthroughs in cybernetics, she had seemed to emerge from the shy husk of her teen years into something of a forceful personality like her brother. She still retained that kindness, but there was now a drive to her that there hadn't been before, as if she were living for her brother as well.

Of course, there was a danger to their relationship. Much like Euphemia before, he and Nunnally kept their relationship hidden behind a veneer of friendship, both as a protection for her, and to prevent the Emperor from discovering what was going on behind the scenes.

Still, he couldn't help but feel guilty on any account. Being in a relationship with the sister of the man you are somewhat responsible for killing, not to mention hiding the fact that you are clinging to a lie to protect as well.

"I'll see about getting leave next week," he finally declared, closing his eyes as he could feel the onset of a headache, "it looks like it is going to be another quiet couple of weeks before the United Nations do anything and Japan hasn't had any internal problems in the last couple of months. I doubt Princess Vicery Marrybell would deny me the opportunity to relax a bit."

"Okay. Hey, Suzaku? Can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"Brother's birthday is the day after tomorrow and...if you would, you don't really have to, can you light a candle for me at the Tokyo Memorial."

He froze, eyes looking straight upwards at the ceiling, shocked by what Nunnally was asking of him.

"Suzaku?"

He shook his head, shaking off the shock of her question.

"Sorry, was just thinking of something. Sure, I can do that. Is there any wish you want me to make for you?"

"...Can you just wish that he finds his way home?"

Again, he felt his breath freeze in his chest, feeling the uncomfortable squeeze in his heart at the fact that he was hiding a lie from his girlfriend.

"Sure. I can do that."

"It's getting really late here, Suzu, so I'll wish you good night."

"Good night, Nunnally."

The phone went dead on her, leaving him in the forbidding silence of his office, the walls seemingly tightening around him.

Sighing, he reached into the drawer after placing his phone away and retrieved a bottle of amber liquid, placing it down on the table with a shot glass. Looking at the liquor for a moment, he then unscrewed it and poured out just enough to fill the shot glass.

It wasn't a new thing for him, imbibing in an alcoholic beverage that is. But it was something that he did when he was overly stressed, or when the world seemed to be too small. The first time he had ever had a drink was when Darlton had dragged him to join with the rest of Cornelia's royal guard after the skirmish at Yokosuka when he had been able to save Cornelia a second time. It had been a night he wished he both didn't remember and remembered fondly. Getting completely smashed and feeling a sense of camaraderie for the first time in Britannia.

After Darlton had died at Tokyo he had carried on that tradition, taking his team out for drinks in spite of their age and racial identity simply as a way for the team to unwind.

He wasn't an alcoholic, no, far from it. If anything, he was too damned controlled for an alcoholic. It was just to take the edge of and to take his mind off the burden he always carried.

_Lelouch's birthday, _he thought darkly, his hand now wrapped around the glass as the content swished around in reaction to his actions, to be perfectly honest, he tried not to think of the ebony haired prince as much as he could. Too many conflicting memories of the boy who had really been his first and only friend. The very same boy that would rip his happiness away without so much as batting an eyelash or a simple 'sorry'.

C_an't really believe it's been three years. Either way, Lelouch, as much as I want to damn you for everything...I can't. I just hope you have found some semblance of peace in death. I'll carry on what you wanted in the long run here._

He then tossed back the drink, feeling the burn of the alcohol as it trekked down his throat. Placing the glass back down, he looked over the reports again, before grabbing another and refilling the glass. He had a feeling he was going to need a few drinks to get through the rest of the evening.


End file.
